1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a warning apparatus for a vehicle, to provide a contact possibility warning by conducting deceleration control according to the possibility of the vehicle contacting with an object that is present in front of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a technique of providing the driver of a vehicle with a contact possibility warning in order to prevent the vehicle from colliding with a front object such as a vehicle running in front of the vehicle in question. Such a technique of proving a contact possibility warning detects a front object of a vehicle with a laser radar or a radio radar and warns of a possibility of the vehicle contacting with the detected front object by sending an alarm sound or by conducting deceleration control. Such warning operations as emitting an alarm sound and conducting deceleration control reduce or prevent the possibility of the vehicle hitting the front object. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-286313 discloses a technique to provide the driver of a vehicle with a deceleration shock as a warning. This disclosure increases the level of the deceleration shock in response to vehicle speed so that the driver may sense a deceleration shock of equivalent level irrespective of vehicle speed.